9 to 10 March 241 BC
The Romans intercept
In early March 241 BC Roman scouts spot the Carthaginian fleet under Hanno off Hiera. Catulus abandons the blockade, takes on board a full complement of soldiers from the besieging army as marines, and anchors the fleet off Aegusa, 16 km from Sicily.
The next morning, 10 March, a strong west wind is blowing and the current runs the same way, and Hanno sets sail at once. Rowing into the wind is a risk, but letting the fleet reach Lilybaeum would relieve the garrisons and Hamilcar’s army. Catulus decides to attack. He has the masts, sails and other gear landed to make the ships handier in the heavy swell, and Falto takes command, since Catulus is still suffering from an earlier wound.
Victory of the Roman fleet over the Carthaginians off the Aegates, illustration by Heinrich Leutemann, about 1880Wikimedia Commons, Heinrich Leutemann, Public domain (Heinrich Leutemann - Victory of the Roman fleet over the Carthaginians at the Battle of the Aegates Islands.jpg)
The Romans form a single line and row west through the swell towards the Carthaginians, meeting them west of the island of Phorbantia. Lead anchors found on the sea floor off its coast suggest that the Roman ships cut their anchors here to lighten themselves. With little choice, the Carthaginians lower their sails and engage.
Sources
- Polybius, Histories, book 1, 60.
- John Lazenby, The First Punic War (1996).
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